Music

The Tower Barry hated cell phones. He shuddered when trapped in a crowd, people yacking at maximum decibel, as if everyone within earshot was buzzed to hear about dysfunctional families or drunken golf outings. He detested camera phones, users blocking sidewalks, or rudely delaying meals to photograph the perfect tuna melt. He considered “selfies” an […]

The Plus Sign She looked at the six shots lined up before her. They stared her down. One, two, three, four, five and six. All vodka. All full to the top and waiting. A lemon-flavored Gatorade stood at the end, the ugly duckling of the bunch. She had heard that a fetus less than twelve […]

What Henry Middleton Had Meant To Do Before Dying He had meant to visit Rome, to feed pigeons with fresh Italian bread in the warm shadow of St. Peter’s. Over breakfast he would have swapped stories with fellow pilgrims: a young Parisian filmmaker, perhaps; a one-armed sculptor from the Bahamas; a Canadian bureaucrat who enjoyed […]

Puddle Couple She starts for the door. “Wait. How about meeting in the park?” She turns around, looks at the floor, raises her head slowly, and answers: “I’ll meet you at two tomorrow in the park under the big maple tree.” I agree. “We have lots in common.” Clara has no limp. She lied. We […]

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May 2016

Our summer submission period is now OPEN! Please spread the word and head over to Submittable to submit your best work.

Also, we'd like to announce that Jasmine Moore and Madison Parrotta will be interning with us this summer. Both attend Rider University and are quite a strong fit for The Bookends Review. They'll be helping out with reading, editing, and administration, and we couldn't be happier to have them on board. Please welcome them and send in those submissions ASAP :)

The Bookends Review ‘Best of 2015’ Anthology is here!

Click here to preview (and order) a copy. It's available in print, PDF, and ebook formats!

You can also check out the 'Best of 2014' anthology here, as well as the 'Best of 2013' anthology here

Donate!

We would greatly appreciate any donation you can make towards The Bookends Review. Funds will go directly toward maintaining our licenses and layouts, helping us release an annual “Best of” print edition, and ensuring that we grow as a journal in many other ways. With your help, we may even be able to pay contributors and run contests soon!